250 Gallon room-divider project log - Page 5

polywise · #**101** 01/13/2006, 11:01 AM

jeffbrig,

I was looking at your pictures of the chiller plumbing going through the wall to outside. I would like to make a suggestion;
Where the lines go through the wall cut down a elbow to snake each line individually through. This should reduce the chances of a pinch point appearing through the turn.

jeffbrig · #**102** 01/13/2006, 11:24 AM

Should have mentioned it before.... I have the elbows and was planning to do exactly that.

Spartan · #**103** 01/13/2006, 05:26 PM

Found this in the product review section for sequence:

Sequence Reefflow Dart pump
Posted by Rogger Castells on 2005-10-05 00:41:05
My Score:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Almost exactly the same as the above post, I has leaked twice, it is currently leaking again and I feel kind of stuck cause I custom installed this pump with a 2" inlet in a way that it will be impossible to replaced with a diffrent pump w/o having to expend too much money replacing all the 2" pvc and valves cause I don''t have the space for a reducer.
I heard the engineer who designed this pump got fired! wonder why?

Sequence Reefflow Dart pump
Posted by on 2005-03-06 11:07:58
My Score:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Overall rating (5/10):
I bought this pump about 8 months ago.

Performance (9/10): The pump is very,very quiet with good output.

Design (5/10): The clear housing is a smart and useful feature that allows you to see into the chamber. Unfortunately, there is a valve/drain at the bottom which is pretty flimsy and needs to handled carefully; I worry that it may one day leak.

Reliability (1/10): The pump failed disastrously after the first three months. Specifically, it seized and then began leaking (briskly) from the impeller shaft assembly.

Customer Service (5/10): Contacted the manufacturer who admitted to a defect in the material used in the impeller. I did have a backup pump for emergencies which would be ok for a few days, but their repair turnaround was over 3 weeks. At my request a temporary replacement was provided, but the company refused to completely cover the cost of express shipping, etc. The original was repaired with a new impeller (different type of plastic). It has been working well so far.

Lunchbucket · #**104** 01/13/2006, 09:09 PM

jeff why didn't you use PVC and then not have to work about the vinyl tube getting pinched?

great idea and nice way to hide it

Lunchbucket

mille239 · #**105** 01/13/2006, 11:24 PM

I hate when my vinyl pinches.

jeffbrig · #**106** 01/14/2006, 01:23 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Lunchbucket
jeff why didn't you use PVC and then not have to work about the vinyl tube getting pinched?

great idea and nice way to hide it

PVC glue/primer, indoors, hardwood floors, tight quarters.....based on my track record spilling water, it seemd a bit risky.

Since the stand can't realistically be moved, I couldn't figure a way to work PVC in behind it. Flexible vinyl made that MUCH easier. Not to mention the number of elbows for hard PVC would have added a bit of extra head pressure.

The bend where the pipes go outside is actually a 45, so kinking won't be as bad as it looks. For some reason, the bend looks really tight in the picture, it's not that bad in reality. I'll be doing a 90 (with a 90 hose fitting) as soon as it gets outside to reach the chiller hookups.

jeffbrig · #**107** 01/14/2006, 01:47 AM

Tank is back up and running, okay, more like limping. Since the return pump started leaking yesterday, I've been relying on the streams for in-tank movement, but no sump or skimmer action. Today I enlisted a mag5 (normally used for water changes) for return pump duty. It's woefully underpowered for this task, but moves enough to keep the surface clean and allows me to run the skimmer. Pretty quiet too....

While setting this up, I gained a real appreciation for all the unions and valves that I put in my original plumbing. I only had to disconnect a union below the return bulkhead, and made up a matching union with a 3/4" hose adapter. With this in place, the mag5 is running submerged in the sump, and pumps into the existing return plumbing. Because of the unions, it's so modular that I can switch back to the sequence pump in just a few minutes. Plus, I'll have this backup plumbing on hand for any future emergencies.

Bebo77 · #**108** 01/18/2006, 09:38 PM

Jeff what bulbs are you using for your MH? I have the XM 10k and they fire 50% of the time with my icecaps.....

I want to get some new bulbs but don't know what to get... as you know i have a very similar set up to you...

jeffbrig · #**109** 01/19/2006, 12:29 PM

I'm running 10k Ushios on my icecap ballasts. I liked the color a little better than the XMs, although they give up a little bit of PAR. Custom aquatic is the cheapest I've seen for them, ~$80/bulb if I remember correctly. The Ushios have always fired immediately on the first try. I think there are some compatability problems between the XM DE and the icecap ballast.

jeffbrig · #**110** 01/22/2006, 11:33 PM

With all the recent equipment headaches, Christy decided I was taking too long to get our fish into the display. So, she took matters into her own hands this evening.

Before you congratulate me, take a closer look. UFO skeptics and fans of low-budget sci fi movies will probably notice what's going on....

No, not photoshop, think more low-tech.

got2lb · #**111** 01/22/2006, 11:39 PM

Your clownfish are outlined in white! Never seen them like that!

ufchristyb · #**112** 01/22/2006, 11:45 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by got2lb
Your clownfish are outlined in white! Never seen them like that!

I knew I should have paid more attention that day in kindergarten when they were teaching cutting.

Oh well, guess next time I should invest in a Sharpie.

Can't blame a girl for trying though, I have been extremely tolerant of the world's most expensive rock garden.

Bebo77 · #**113** 01/23/2006, 01:03 AM

YEAH!!!!!!!!!!

i was getting tired of waiting

Lunchbucket · #**114** 01/23/2006, 06:25 AM

MS paint?? they just cut out and glued on there ???

Lunchbucket

jeffbrig · #**115** 01/23/2006, 08:05 AM

Pics were taken yesterday, printed, cut out, and suspended on monfillament line (look above the clownfish on the right).

I'm actually stunned at how respectable the pictures came out, especially the tang.

jeffbrig · #**116** 01/23/2006, 08:13 AM

The chiller plumbing is finally complete (if you ignore the temporary lack of return pump - more on that in a few minutes).

Everything is plumbed with 1" vinyl, oversized from the chiller's 3/4" intake/outlet. Ball valves on both lines allow for easy disassembly for chiller cleaning/maintenance. The chiller is hardwired into the stand so the temp controller is with all the other electronics.

Once everything has been leak-tested, I'll caulk the gaps where the plumbing goes through the wall and put the baseboards back on.

jeffbrig · #**117** 01/23/2006, 08:43 AM

I messed with the bad pumps this weekend as well. The ER pump that stopped working is rather annoying. This pump was in use less than a month before it stopped working. On taking it apart, I found severe scoring on the impeller casing, with matching marks on the inside of the motor housing. Even after cleaning out the shavings, it ran for several seconds then stopped again. I think the rough surfaces provide too much friction, causing the impeller to stick in place.

Further complicating matters, ER seems to have mishandled my original pump exchange. I paid a $250 deposit to have replacements sent to me up front (instead of waiting for warranty repair). After returning those early prototypes that were rusting, my deposit was apparently not refunded. Instead, the impellers were replaced (which was needed), rusting of the back plate was NOT addressed, and they were shipped back to me last week. I haven't been able to reach ER yet to get this cleared up. That's a priority for today.

Here's a shot of the sequence pump after I pulled it from the stand yesterday. The leaking seal started after the bearing problem developed.

I was going to hook up the loaner pump, but then I noticed a sticker on the box saying "Cimarron". That's a valueflo, non-saltwter pump. Apparently, my need for a saltwater pump didn't get communicated from the tech to the person who took my information and sent this out. I'm riding the fence on whether or not to hook it up. I'll call Sequence again today and see what they recommend.

I am very happy with how easy it was to hook up the mag5. Unions are truly a godsend in making emergency plumbing changes. Half a union, an elbow, a hose adapter, and a little 3/4" hose (all of which were in my misc. PVC parts bin) is all that was needed to hook it up. Worst-case scenario, I'll continue with this temporary setup until my sequence pump is returned. Picking up a Dart for a backup pump is looking smarter and smarter, though.

I've had several requests for pictures inside the canopy, so here's a new angle, looking out from the overflow end. It gives a better idea of how my return plumbing is set up. That think floating in the middle is my lookdown box for taking photos. It's an acrylic bowl that I picked up in the party section of Target for literally $2. It floats easily, and has a nice clear bottom for taking photos, or seeing what you're doing while working inside the tank.

Here's a sample picture taken through the lookdown box.

ufchristyb · #**118** 01/23/2006, 09:05 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by jeffbrig
Pics were taken yesterday, printed, cut out, and suspended on monfillament line (look above the clownfish on the right).

More importantly . . . look at how much the tang's orange spot is starting to grow. Am so psyched - he's totally had a growth spurt in the last two weeks. Now all we need to do is get him out of the 55 gallon before the tang police come and get us.

--Christy

Lunchbucket · #**119** 01/23/2006, 09:56 PM

too cool monofililament line!!

sorry for all the troubles

Lunchbucket

Bebo77 · #**120** 01/24/2006, 12:03 AM

jeff.. you should have got a Deltec...

jeffbrig · #**121** 01/24/2006, 12:33 AM

Gabriel, that thought has certainly crossed my mind.....

Bebo77 · #**122** 01/24/2006, 12:50 AM

Jeff you were one of the reasons that i got a Deltec, i PM'd you a while ago about your Euro and you said it was so so but if you were to do it over again you would look at Deltec's.. That was the start for my search... I called Doug later and he sold me on it... i canceled my Euro order and picked up the Deltec.
Have never regretted the decision.

dougchambers · #**123** 01/24/2006, 12:52 AM

Yeh... But who would get the house if you bought a new skimmer. Isn't your wife a Lawyer? It's not looking good for ya...

Bebo77 · #**124** 01/24/2006, 01:03 AM

lol i think Chirsty will go for it...
get her some flowers and chocolate first...

jeffbrig · #**125** 01/24/2006, 07:51 AM

Calm down guys, "should have bought", and "should go buy" are two VERY different things.

There's no way I'm dropping another $1500 on a new skimmer right now. Especially since I just dropped $2k on a new set of wheels for my car. (Christy would like to point out that I have too many expensive hobbies)

The ER works great, it's just the pump quality that I'm concerned about right now. Maybe one day I can find a pair of needlewheel Eheims for cheap, LOL.